Travels through Korea

One of my favourite people in the world is a guy called Stu.  

We met somewhere back in the Doc-Martened recesses of grade 10, circa 1994, in the parking lot or the multi-purpose room or the blue-lockered hallways of Stelly’s Secondary, the exact moment and location either erased or too far embedded in my memory to recall, but the friendship, wherever its beginning bud sprouted, destined to grow full bloom the following year, in a place where a now vague but once vivid artistic dream of mine flourished: Drama Class.

Any of you who have been following Coco Busan over the last year and a half (thanks, everyone!) have likely noticed my fondness for Korean islands.  I’ve visited six of them now, escaping the homogeny of the city buildings and immersing myself, temporarily, into the more traditional lifestyle and architecture that lingers on these slow-paced refuges. Bright rooftops and forests of fat green trees frame the small villages that make up this part of Korea’s culture.  Fishing boats glow in the night waters; narrow roads wind up toward silouhetted hills; the sound of families cooking dinner drifts into my minbak windows, unobstructed by cars.  Yep, I like these places. When I leave, six months from now, the islands will stay with me.

So of course I had to show one to my sister.

After the mid-April trip to Bijindo island, during which our inspiration to camp on the beach with an open fire was half-squelched by the local ajummas (the beach camping was a success, the open fire vetoed in loud, vehement Korean ), Joe’s and my vision for Somaemuldo was somewhat simpler: we just wanted to camp, period.  A fire isn’t necessary in the night heat of July, and from the maps we’d skimmed, beach access on this small (population 50!), rocky ocean jem southwest of Tongyeong looked limited, if not non-existent.  All we wanted to pitch a tent was a flat plot of land, ideally with a little open space surrounding it.  This potential one-night nature haven had to exist somewhere on the island….right?